So it was a wartime fighter pilot scramble again as I dashed to the Ducati and headed to my local bikers cafe for a cuppa to take advantage of brief window of sunshine. I had forgotten just how lovely my Ducati is to ride. There is one sequence of bends on the A442 as you head towards Kidderminster where the Duke is just deliciously easy to slice through the corners. Just fantastic. As usual the Cafe bike park threw some interesting machines…

Late ‘proper’ Bonnie..interesting contrast to an early Hinckley built Trophy

So good I took the TDM to Hereford for a deep clean and anti-corrosion treatment – it now gleams like new! Gabi the AYB guy has an MV 800, a Herald 125 and an old PK scooter (his first ever bike). The Yam is running really well: almost seems a shame to Ebay it, but it’s got to go….

After lunch it was the turn of the Explorers: with Debs as pillion and Jed on his red 2015 Tex in tow, we explored a new route (OK, I got us lost and discovered some tiny gravel-strewn lanes en route to Raglan) to the Steel Horse Cafe near Abergavenny.Now it has been lowered the big Tiger is even better: surefooted over gravel, still great in the twisties and greedy for ever more throttle. But now I can get both heels down (at the same time!) the substantial weight is really easy to handle: this outing was a grin-fest, start to finish.The return trip was via Usk: it began to rain so we took the dual carriageway back and outstripped the clouds. Debs reckons we took 15 mins to get back home, but that can’t be right